花了一百万+两年读的研究生，移民局居然不认可我的学历？

近期我们听到了一则为“因移民局不认可申请人的美国研究生学历而最终拒绝批准该申请”的消息，H1B小助手在听到这个消息之后赶紧上网查资料同时也咨询了律师这到底是怎么一回事？难道花了这么多钱和时间获得的学位却不一定得到认可吗？今天小编以及同事就整理并且翻译了前美国律师协会立法小组成员科洛杰律师的深度解析文章，带着大家看一看究竟你的学历是否能得到美国移民局的认可吧！

随着2019财年H-1B申请日的临近，雇佣外籍技能型员工的公司需要利用策略去增大签证被抽中的几率。每年H-1B的配额是65000个名额，有20000个名额是额外预留给高等学历，即从美国院校获得的硕士及以上学历。因此符合高等学历的申请者在抽签上具有明显的优势，因为对于这部分申请者来说他们会先进入首轮抽签，如果未获得20000个名额再接着进入65000个名额的筛选之中。然而并不是所有的大学或高校，或其他教育机构的学生符合高等学位签证的要求。

As the deadline approaches for filing petitions for the H-1B visa cap for the 2019 financial year employers hiring skilled foreign nationals must strategize to maximize their chances for obtaining one of the limited number of H-1B visas. The H-1B is limited to 65,000 visas per year, with an additional 20,000 for recipients of advanced degrees, defined as master’s level degrees or higher, from U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants with a qualifying advanced degree have a clear advantage in the lottery for the limited number of H-1B visas because applications for the master’s cap are chosen first, and if they do not receive one of the 20,000 visas allotted for advanced degrees, they are re-entered in to the regular lottery for the remaining 65,000. However, not all college, universities, or other educational institutions necessarily qualify their students for these additional H-1B visas.

To qualify for the master’s cap the applicant must have an advance degree from a U.S. institution of higher education as defined by section 1001(a) of the Title 20 of the U.S. Code, which defines an institution of higher education as a properly accredited institution providing post-secondary school (high school) education, that must be either a public, state-run institution, or a private non-profit. Therefore, if the school is not a public institution and is for-profit, beware; it will likely not qualify for the master’s cap. Note also that U.S. schools are accredited by a confusing array of accrediting bodies at both the national and regional level, and these accreditations vary widely in credibility. Note that in the United States regionally accredited institutions are generally more prestigious than nationally accredited ones, and therefore regionally accredited schools are more likely to pass muster with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The U.S. Department of Education maintains a list of recognized accrediting organizations that can be found here.